Roma: The boots that give back

“Amor” is a word we all know. Whether it’s said in Spanish or in Italian, we recognize its universal meaning: love.

Roma Boots is a rain boot company that centralizes its focus on love—in fact, its name is amor spelled backward. This Dallas-based rain boot company delivers a pair of rain boots to a child in poverty abroad for every pair bought in the U.S. Their mission: “giving poverty the boot.”

From Guatemala to Moldova, Roma has delivered boots to countries worldwide.

Founder and CEO Samuel Bistrian said he started Roma Boots because he knew he wanted to make a difference in the world. As a former Neiman Marcus employee, he understood the fashion world, but his childhood in Romania also had an impact on his desire to end poverty.

“I was born in a small part of Romania with eight brothers and sisters,” Bistrian said. “I remember getting my first pair of hand-me-down rain boots at six years old, and I remember how excited I was.”

Bistrian said he got his idea after meeting with the founder of Tom’s shoes. He said he loved the idea but thought some kids needed shoes that were more durable in certain climates.

“After I met with the owner of Tom’s, I realized there was a similar but different market open for my idea, so I ran with it,” Bistrian said.

Aside from giving underprivileged children a pair of rain boots, Roma also focuses on education.

Bistrian mentioned in an interview that he wants to not only give a man a cod for food, but also the tools to fish.

Roma pairs up with many different programs around the world that promote the importance of education; it’s even in the process of building its own school in Romania.